Vices!  They aren’t the most fun thing to talk about, but they might just be loaded with connotation in our lives.  There is a famous quote from Fr. Pedro Arrupe that I was reminded of last week in Bible Study that says,

“Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in Love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in Love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”

I think what this quote implies, but doesn’t say, is that vices can work in quite the same way – affecting everything, obviously not for the better, but seeping into our interactions with others, what we do, read, eat, and look at.  Vices are the toxic counterpart to the love that Fr. Arrupe is talking about.

We all have struggled with different vices, but one thing connects them all, they are deceptive.  They usually deceive us into thinking they are good for us, that they will make us feel better, or that they are true.  I think magic is a wonderful metaphor for vice, and therefore explored that in this week’s song, Abracadabra (It Wasn’t Magic).  Vices and magic both imply something dark or mysterious, perhaps something we’d rather hide.  There is a truth that exposes the trick or reveals the error in our ways.  When that truth prevails over vice, there is a freedom that can’t be denied, a light that permeates our days.  I wanna live like that, how about you?

ABRACADABRA (IT WASN’T MAGIC)

You were my only friend
My lonely enemy too
I was needy, greedy
And you were there

Concocted a holy potion
A cure to behold
Made of love and pure devotion
You disappeared

O! Abracadabra
It wasn’t magic
Presto! The curse was lifted
I’m free as a bird

Hex all you want
Your allure won’t fool me now
The illusion has been uncovered
A sleight of hand

O! Abracadabra
It wasn’t magic
Presto! The curse was lifted
I’m free as a bird

Enchanted vice be relinquished
Wishes, spells won’t redeem me
A prophecy of light, of mystery
Yeah, only the truth will free me

O! Abracadabra
It wasn’t magic
Presto! The curse was lifted
I’m free as a bird
Free as a bird
Free as a bird